One year old!

10 August 2017

This photo was taken yesterday afternoon as Gracie was posing on the verandah.

Happy birthday to our dear Gracie who is one year old today. We're taking her to the beach for lunch and a run around. Despite her outbursts of craziness, we both love her dearly. She's unlike any other dog we've had before and we're looking forward to many years of Gracie antics ahead.

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If I had to name this dish I'd probably call it chicken fricassee but it's not the traditional recipe for fricassee. This is, however, a lightish, delicious and easy to cook chicken stew which makes its own stock as it cooks. It's popular with children as well as adults, it's a good winter all rounder.

You can use either chicken pieces with the bone in or a whole chicken. I use a whole chicken because it's cheaper; I always use free range chicken. If you have a whole chicken, using a sharp knife and chicken shears, cut along both sides of the spine, then snip it along the cut to remove the spine. Don't discard it, it goes in the stew to help develop flavour in the stock. If you have boneless chicken pieces, use them with a good homemade chicken stock.

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole chicken cut into portions, or 8 chicken pieces with bone in. After removing the spine, cut off the wings, cut each of the breasts in half, cut the legs from the thighs. This will give you 8 portions plus the wings.

Mix the flour, salt, pepper and paprika together and coat each chicken piece. Place olive oil in frying pan and brown each coated chicken piece. Add the chopped vegetables and all the bones removed when you portioned the chicken. Add a litre of water and mix. Add the herbs.

Put the lid on, bring to the boil, and then place in the oven to cook slowly (about 150C/300F) for two hours. About an hour later, add some potatoes. Yes, you can use the slow cooker instead of the oven.

As it cooks the sauce will thicken. Make sure you cook this slowly to retain the moisture. A fast cook will dry out the meat. Serve with a green vegetable.

39 comments

Love your blog! Can you do a post or point me to resources about how to love hard work? I'm finding that being a wife, mother, and grown up is frankly a lot harder than I thought it would be! I keep trying to look for solutions (usually via some gadget/ something convenient to buy) but I'm realizing it's just plain hard. Need some help "digging in" and expecting/ enjoying the work...even the small stuff.

Wow that year flew by. Happy Birthday little Gracie and enjoy your day at the beach.Thankyou for the recipe too. I actually have a free range whole chicken sitting in the freezer. I think I'll use the slow cooker method and was thinking the low setting for about 5-6 hours.Enjoy your day and the celebrations.Kylie

I have never commented on your blog before, but have been reading it for over a year and really enjoy it. I live in Wasington state in the U.S. so our climate is very different from yours. However, I garden so I especially enjoy your posts about gardening, as well as crafts and homemaking. Was wondering about this recipe. Would it work just as well, to let it simmer, slowly, on top of the stove?~ Laura C.

Gracie looks so interesting and fun....I'm so glad for you all to have her in your family. And that recipe is like something I might do, if I were not going to make chicken paprikash....But I usually end up making that. But I think I will do your version next time.

Here is a google translation..... Thank you dear Rhonda now I can again read faster and learn from you. Especially what the garden is concerned with and the simple way of life. We try it out and reject it to try it again and then somehow it will work. I send greetings to you, but especially to gracie :)

Good morning Rhonda. Thank you for sharing your chicken recipe, it looks delicious. I can't believe Gracie is a year old. Time flies. She is beautiful and will eventually stop chewing I'm sure. Our dog chewed for about 3 years (always our outdoor cushions) but we are grateful she is kind to the chickens!

Hi Rhonda, thanks for sharing your recipe....I will give it a whirl this weekend. Might test out my new mix of salt/pepper/dried porcini mushroom blend that I have made up in my grinder for seasoning the chook! Hope you enjoy the rest of this warmer weather we are having this week. Cheers, Annabelle

Happy birthday to Gracie, I love hearing about her antics and she is just so adorable. That recipe looks delicious and something I think I need to try in my slow cooker. Thanks for your wonderful blog.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY dear Gracie! gosh has it been a year? wow that went fast! enjoy your day out at the beach!that chicken dish looks wonderful, my last one i did on high & the chicken meat did go dry, will try this version, love how simple it is toothanx for sharing selina from kilkivan qld

Ha, a year already. Our two are just over 5 months. Young dogs are such a good source of entertainment. Though some days they are less entertaining than others and it seems the training is never ending. I nearly lost a beautiful double pink petunia to our Banjo this morning. I just stopped him in time from devouring it.

A day late but Happy Birthday Gracie! Love the look of that chicken, it will definitely be on the menu this week. Thank you so much for all that you share with us Rhonda I always look forward to seeing your posts pop up in my emails and the weekend reading has opened my eyes to so many things and helped out with many others. Take care :)

Happy Birthday to sweet Gracie! Gosh it doesn't seem that long ago that you brought her home. I'm going to make your Chicken dish at the weekend I think I will use my slow cooker and come home to a delicious meal. Thank you Rhonda.

Yummo Rhonda! We make a similar chicken soup with a bit of an Asian bent. We use chicken thighs that we purchase when on sale. The thighs are browned in the soup pan with onion. Chicken stock is then added to cover the thighs. Fresh ginger and chilli are added, along with a small amount of celery. This is allowed to simmer until the thighs are cooked. The heat is turned off and a good amount of coarsely chopped silver beet is added. Serve up and enjoy.

I made Slow Cooker Italian Chicken from Miz Helen's Country Cottage last weekend and it was delicious. I will try your recipe too once the weather cools a bit. It looks like a yummy fall dish. Have a great weekend.

Happy Birthday Gracie! What fun adventures you must have planed for Rhonda and Hanno... the chicken stew looks so good and I will try it out when I am able to eat again. Had some extensive dental surgery 9 days ago and eating is a ways out yet. Blessings, Carolyn in Florida

I found your blog via Pinterest email feature your 5 minute bread recipe. I am so glad to have found you!

I've been making my own ginger syrup with fresh ginger and adding it to sparkling water. Fermenting my own is something I am going to try very soon! We are actually traveling or I'd be heading into the kitchen immediately!

Thank you for this recipe, I am always looking for good, nutritious, home style chicken recipes.

Dear Rhonda, I've been reading your blog since my oldest son was 5 years old. He's 13 now and we've been through many lifestyle changes...from the blue mountains, to Auckland, from stay at home mum to working full time, from married to separated. Its a delight to come back to visit your blog and see that I still love it,and it exemplifies so many of my ideals. I'm thinking of moving out of the city and out to a more provincial setting. Keep writing. I need the inspiration and practical advice :)

Happy Birthday Gracie! I am sure she will have many more happy years with you, hopefully with a little less mischief. As new parents we always congratulate each other on making it through the first year. Congratulations Rhonda and Hanno too!

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Now in my blog's 11th year, I'm still writing about the wonders of a close family and a warm and welcoming home. The subjects are many and varied here and while most of the time I write about simple home life, gardening, knitting and recipes, I also add a sprinkling of my thoughts about ageing, a small black Scottie dog named Gracie, and anything else that rocks my boat. I'm glad you found me.

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